The Kingdom of Jolof ( ar, جولوف), also known as Wolof and Wollof, was a

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, ...

rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state, left with a reduced territory in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, or a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case ...

located in what is today the nation of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

. For nearly two hundred years, the Wolof rulers of the

Jolof Empire Jolof (french: Djolof or ') may refer to either of * Jolof Empire, a West African successor state to the Mali Empire in modern Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السن� ...

collected tribute from vassal kings states who voluntarily agreed to the confederacy. At the

Battle of Danki A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

, the Buurba Jolof was defeated by the lord of

Kayor Cayor ( wo, Kajoor; ar, كاجور) was the largest and most powerful kingdom (1549–1879) that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Walo, west of the kingdom ...

resulting in the rapid disintegration of the empire. Jolof survived as a meager state, unable to prosper from the Atlantic trade between its former vassal territories and the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Mauretanian promise

In 1670, wandering Muslim clerics from

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants ...

stirred up a rebellion against the Wolof rulers by a ruse. They promised to show the Wolof people how to produce

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets a ...

without the labor of planting. During the ensuing rebellion, the Mauretanians invaded, killed the rulers of Waalo and Kayor and defeated the ''burba Jolof''. However, when the Mauretanians could not deliver on their promise, the Wolof restored their rulers and drove the invaders out. This claim is questionable because most rural Wolofs are strong farmers who produce millet and other crops. The Mauretanians still remained a problem, however; and Waalo in particular suffered from their constant raids.Stride, G.T. & C. Ifeka: "Peoples and Empires of West Africa: West Africa in History 1000-1800" page 24. Nelson, 1971

Baol and Kayor

In 1686, Baol split from Kayor under the ''teny'' (king)

Lat Sukabe Fall Lat or LAT may refer to: Places * Lat, Fuman, village in Gilan Province, Iran * Lat, Rasht, village in Gilan Province, Iran * Lat, Mazandaran, village in Iran * Lat-e Disar, village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Lat, Qazvin, village in ...

. The ''burba Jolof'' used this as an excuse to try and hem in his crumbling empire and invaded Kayor. Sukabe, fearing for his own security, invaded Kayor and killed the ''burba Jolof'' in battle. He then annexed Kayor creating a union of the two states that would last until his death in 1702. Thereafter, the two states would be ruled by his sons. By the late 18th century, Kayor was pre-eminent again and annexed Baol while inflicting serious defeats on the Muslim al-Mami of Futa Toro in 1786.

Destruction

Around 1875,

Ahmadu Shaykhu Ahmadu can refer to: Several leaders of the West African Massina Empire: * Seku Amadu (1773–1845), Islamic sheikh and founder of the Massina Empire * Amadu II of Masina (r. 1845–1852), his son * Amadu III of Masina (1852–1862), his grandson ...

of the

Imamate of Futa Jallon The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon ( ar, إمامة فوتة جالون; fuf, Fuuta Jaloo or ' ) was a West African theocratic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded around 1727 by a Fulani jihad ...

took his ''

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...

'' to Djolof. The empire was more or less annexed until 1890. From then on, it was absorbed into the French colony administered from

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolof, Kingdom of States and territories established in 1350 States and territories disestablished in 1900 Former empires in Africa French West Africa History of Senegal Countries in medieval Africa Countries in precolonial Africa 1549 establishments in Africa

Mauretanian promise

Baol and Kayor

Destruction

See also

Sources

References